


Shelter from the Storm

by DesertVixen



Category: Voltron: Lion Force (1984)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Intimacy, Oh No It's Raining, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 04:16:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19221409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: The new commander of the Voltron Force and the princess get caught in a storm...





	Shelter from the Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lunarium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/gifts).



They had never really been alone before, not like this, Lance thought. There had been the excursion to Planet Lyra to return the Roses of Lyra to their rightful home, but that had been a different situation entirely. There, he’d treated Allura as a teammate, as a princess, and they had been concerned with dealing with the Lyrans.

Everything was different now, he mused.

*** 

Zarkon, Lotor, and the forces of Doom had been defeated, for once and for all. Lance had never really thought about what he would do when they won, choosing to stay focused on the fight.

Now, there was no fight.

Lance was also the only member of the team who had remained on Arus. 

Sven had been offered a position at the Academy, while Keith had accepted a cushy Galaxy Garrison posting. Lance wished his two friends well – surely no one was more entitled to peace and healing than Sven. Keith would be there to see that Sven got that peace and healing, even though it meant taking the sort of position he hated. Pidge and Hunk had been offered excellent ship postings together that they’d jumped on. Lance had been offered one himself – command of a starfighter detachment – but the more he thought about leaving Arus, the less eager he was to pack his bags and go.

Maybe it had been the look on Allura’s face when she talked about them leaving, the bare look of shattering loneliness he’d seen on her face for just an instant before she covered it with a brave smile. Allura might be a princess, but she had fought as long and hard as the rest of them, even harder when her battles with Coran and Nanny factored in. 

Maybe it was thought of her alone in the halls of the castle again that gave him pause. She’d survived all the devastation Zarkon had rained down on Arus, but she had lost so much. All of the Arusians had. Coran had lost his wife and son protecting his princess, doing his duty. The story of loss and destruction was one that had been repeated across the planet. There wasn’t a clan or family on the entire planet that had not suffered. 

Lance had come to the unsurprising conclusion long ago that Arus’ entire population was dealing with PTSD. 

Coran and the midnight prowls he took through the palace, as if searching for intruders – or haunted by the ghosts in the halls. 

Nanny and her extreme over-protectiveness of the princess, when there should have been an entire court for her to fuss over.

Allura and her determination to never be defenseless, ever again. 

Lance knew he couldn’t abandon them, abandon her, even if the rest of the team was.

When he’d refused the assignment, he had been pleasantly surprised to have them offer him a post on Arus instead – as the new commander of the Voltron Force. Galaxy Garrison wanted to keep Voltron alive this time. Coran was quite pleased to have the support from Galaxy Garrison, and to have Lance in command. Lance couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the command should be offered to Allura first, but Coran argued that Lance was the better choice, as it would free Allura to focus on her royal duties. In fact, he agreed so readily that Lance suspected the diplomat had been doing some deal-making behind the scenes. It was a little scary, being the responsible one, being in charge, but he was adjusting.

Sitting in Black Lion instead of his trusty Red was a little disconcerting, but he was getting used to it. Allura had bowed to Coran’s dictates about more study, but she had refused to give up her seat in Blue Lion. It was steadying to know the Princess was still part of the team. Black Lion felt different – heavier, more complex, as if the weight of command was built into the machine. Every now and then, Lance would take Red out for a run, just for a taste of freedom. 

Of course, now that Lance was the only young man in any real proximity to the Princess, Nanny only had one target for her suspicious glares. Lance knew he was up to the challenge, and he actually enjoyed some of the etiquette classes. Nanny had made it clear that the Voltron Force commander would have social responsibilities as well.

Both he and Allura had plenty of work, but they managed to find time to spend together, now that they could simply explore Arus without always having an agenda.

*** 

That was how they had wound up in their current situation, stranded in an abandoned cabin in one of the worst storms he’d ever seen. They had ridden out this morning with the intent of checking on an area recently repopulated by released slaves. Coran had agreed to it, although Lance felt he was giving Allura a bit of a chance to escape.

They had visited the settlement, which was developing nicely. Allura had suggested they take a scenic route back to the castle, and he hadn’t argued. It was the height of the Arusian summer, and it was breathtaking. They’d ridden through a meadow of brilliantly colored flowers, into a patch of forest that was nicely cool after the sun. 

The fat rain drops began falling while they were in the woods, and Lance was enjoying it until it really started coming down. 

“Look!” Allura pulled her horse up beside him, pointing ahead of them. There was a small cabin at the edge of the woods, with an overgrown garden around it. It looked abandoned, and like the answer to a prayer. They needed shelter, and that looked like their best chance.

“Let’s check it out!” 

For a second, he realized this cabin was exactly the sort of place where Haggar would set one of her traps, but the old witch was gone – and they couldn’t stay out in the elements for much longer. There was a small outbuilding that had apparently been a stable once, and Lance took charge of their horses while Allura made a run for the cabin.

It wasn’t until he was inside the cabin that Lance realized his communicator seemed to be dead. He frowned at the device – a little water shouldn’t have messed it up – but put it aside and set about building a fire in the fireplace. They needed some heat, since both of them were soaked through. Allura came out of the back room, carrying a few blankets.

“Someone must keep supplies here for travelers,” she said with a smile. “Just what we needed.”

He had stepped to the door to watch the storm, and to give Allura some privacy. When she said his name, he turned to find her standing there with one blanket wrapped around her slender form, and another draped over her shoulder like a cape. “Good thing we never got around to eating that lunch we packed,” she told him as they sat in front of the fireplace, her clothes hung on one side of the hearth. 

Lance had opted to keep his wet pants on – just in case Coran sent out a rescue squad. His shirt and jacket joined her clothes, and they devoured the contents of the picnic basket. Nanny had a magical touch in the kitchen, and these sandwiches and snacks were no exception.

When they were done, Allura yawned. It had been a long day, Lance reflected, and the sound of the heavy rain on the roof was very relaxing. 

Her hair was falling out of its usual bun, sodden and tangled. He watched her take it down, squeeze the excess water from the blonde waves, trying to untangle it. Lance was suddenly very, very aware that they might be the only two people in the world.

“Need a hand?” He tried to keep his tone light, tried not to show how very intimate this situation was.

“I’d appreciate that,” she said, turning so her back was to him. The mass of her hair touched the floor, and he started carefully, gently, working his fingers through it, trying to get the worst of the tangles out as it wound around his fingers. She tilted her head back slightly, never wincing once, until her hair was smooth enough for her to gather in a single fat braid. 

The rain was still falling, and the sky was dark, although Lance noted his chronometer had stopped as well. He threw more wood on the fire, then turned to Allura. 

“We should try to get some sleep,” he told her. “There’s enough blankets to make a pallet on the ground.”

She nodded, flipping the braid over her shoulder. When the pallet was made, she dropped down on it, nearest the fire. Lance lay facing the door, trying very hard not to think about the princess laying beside him in just a blanket.

When he woke to the sound of a hovercraft from the Castle landing, Lance was surprised to find that Allura had snuggled up against his back, and he edged away. The last thing he wanted was for the Princess of Arus to be seen in a compromising position – especially when he hadn’t done anything to compromise her. 

Luckily, his thoughts couldn’t be held against him.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this scratches your itch for Lance/Allura, and sort of tentative beginnings (and yes, maybe a haunted cabin...)!


End file.
